UN Emergency!

The United Nations cynically calls an emergency session to stop Israel's construction of the security fence.

…We need not repeat in detail our arguments regarding the legality and necessity of the security fence. Our position has been set forth both in the Council and in the Assembly, as well as in correspondence with the Secretary General and in a variety of other official documents and statements. As we have stated before, Israel does not deny that in exercising its inherent right to self-defense against terrorism of the most brutal kind, it must act within the limits of international law. But we do reject attempts to incorrectly and selectively apply that law, to misrepresent the nature and purpose of the security fence, and to ignore the context in which Israel's actions are taken.

Let me be perfectly clear. This is the Arafat Fence. This is the fence that Arafat built. His terrorism initiated it, and made its construction inevitable. If there were no Arafat, there would be no fence! My comments in regard to the fence will be brief and non-exhaustive. The security fence is a temporary, proven, necessary and non-violent measure adopted, in accordance with international and local law, to defend the people of Israel from a continuing and vicious campaign of terrorism that has killed hundred of innocent civilians and will kill thousands more, if not prevented. As long as the Palestinian leadership continues to flout its most basic obligations to fight terrorism, there is simply no alternative to it. Indeed, the only reason for the construction of the fence is the Palestinian strategy of terrorism -- as soon as the terror ends, the fence will no longer be necessary.

As soon as the terror ends, the fence will no longer be necessary.

The fence is not a border, and has no political significance. It does not change the legal status of the territory in any way. Israel remains committed to determining the final status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including the issue of borders, through negotiations as has been agreed by the parties. As we have proven before, we will be ready to dismantle or alter the route of the fence in accordance with any political settlement reached.

If built along the 1949 Armistice Line (the so-called Green line), which was never intended to, nor ever has, enjoyed legal status as an international boundary, the fence would constitute an arbitrary and artificial line that simply would not adequately fulfill its sole function -- the prevention of terrorist attacks against civilians. The route of the fence is determined not by politics, but by a difficult and painful balance between security, humanitarian and topographical considerations.

ROAD BLOCKS?

Israel is working to ensure that the fence does not cause undue hardship to local Palestinian residents, both through extensive consultations with the local population over the route of the fence, and through an active process of appeals and judicial review. And we will continue to engage in this process and to seek individual solutions to problems that arise. At the same time, we reiterate that the fence will allow a significant reduction in the presence of Israeli forces in the West Bank, thus improving overall humanitarian conditions for the majority of Palestinian residents. And we stress that while the rights of local residents are legitimate and important, we should not forget that the right not to be murdered by terrorists is a right which is certainly no less important and, if violated, is impossible to redress.

Some have argued that the fence is counterproductive to the peace process and to future negotiations. We believe this assessment to be mistaken and unjustified. If anything, by reducing the capacity of Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate and carry out acts of terror, the fence will help take terrorism out of the equation, restore calm, and encourage an environment in which negotiations and the implementation of the Road Map can take place. In those areas in which it has been erected, the fence has already significantly reduced the terrorist threat, and it has aided in preventing multiple suicide attacks just in the last few weeks. If, because of the fence, terrorism ceases to be a tool readily available to the enemies of peace so as to derail the process, the chances of making progress at the negotiation table can only be enhanced.

In fact, in spite of what some may perceive as a recent calm, the terrorists have not stopped for one minute to try and carry out their barbaric acts. Since the horrific bombing in Haifa on October 4th, until December 4th, the Israeli security forces have foiled 27 attempts to bring death and destruction to Israel's cities. Fourteen of them were suicide attempts stopped just before being carried out.

Terrorists said they had sought an area where the security fence had not yet been constructed.

To give but one example, just last Wednesday Israeli forces arrested two suicide bombers, who were members of the Palestinian Authority's own security services and at the same time affiliated with the terrorist organization Islamic Jihad, headquartered in Damascus, Syria. The two terrorists, Munir Rabiah and Murad Zietun, were on their way to perpetrate a suicide attack against Israeli schoolchildren at a school in Yoknea'm near Haifa. If this is not shocking enough, the terrorists are reported to have told investigators that in order to infiltrate into Israel they had sought out an area where the security fence had not yet been constructed. Had they succeeded in their horrific plan, innocent school children would have been murdered in cold blood and attempts to restart the peace process would have been seriously harmed. In this reality, where PA employees seek to murder schoolchildren, how can it be seriously argued that the fence is counterproductive to the peace process, when it is crucial to stopping the terror that seeks to destroy that very process.

The fence is neither an obstacle to a two-state solution, nor to the creation of a contiguous, viable and democratic Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with Israel. It will help create a terror-free environment in which a peace can be agreed through negotiations. And when the terrorism has ended and negotiations bear fruit, the fence can make way to any territorial solution agreed upon by the parties…

BALANCE OF HARDSHIPS

Since the outbreak of the latest wave of Palestinian violence in September 2000 there have been literally thousands of separate terrorist attacks -- bombings, rocket attacks, stabbings and shootings -- directed against both Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel by Palestinian terrorist groups. The planning and preparation of such terrorist attacks, including mega-terror attacks against targets such as skyscrapers, fuel depots and chemical plants, continues unabated, and unrestrained by the Palestinian leadership and its security personnel. The silence of the Secretary-General's Report on the threat posed by Palestinian terrorism, and the complicity of the Palestinian leadership, is incomprehensible given that the construction of the fence is a response to that threat.

The question whether Israel's defensive measures are permissible, depends on whether they are proportionate to the threat faced by Israel and its citizens. As numerous leading scholars and judicial bodies, including the Yugoslavia Tribunal, have found, the determination that a defensive measure is disproportionate in any given circumstance is a particularly complex and delicate one, to be measured against the amount of force, or other defensive action, necessary to remove the threat that is posed. It requires legal, operational and security expertise and a close familiarity with the extent and the nature of the threat.

And yet this fundamental principle of proportionality, accepted in the PLO legal position attached to the Report, sadly is quite absent from the Report itself. To the contrary, the Report's conclusion seems to rewrite the international law of self-defense in a quite alarming manner. "I acknowledge and recognize Israel's right and duty to protect its people against terrorist attacks", the Report concludes. But it then goes on to qualify this principle, saying that not only must this duty be carried out in a way that is accordance with international law, but also it must not "mak[e] the creation of an independent, viable and contiguous Palestinian state more difficult, or increase suffering among the Palestinian people." In other words, any Israeli measure, however many innocent lives it may save, however much it may serve to release the stranglehold of terrorists on Palestinian society -- if it has any impact, even temporary, on the lives of Palestinians, it is unacceptable.

The UN implies that however many Jewish lives the fence may save, if it inconveniences Palestinians, it is unacceptable.

This is not just bad law, it is bad morality. Let us be quite frank. There is no way of protecting the lives of the innocent from terrorists who hide in the heart of civilian areas, without having some impact on the lives of those they have chosen to hide amongst and those that have chosen to offer them shelter. At a time when every Israeli, and every Jew, is a declared target for Palestinian terrorist organizations, the question is how to allocate, humanely and effectively, the balance of hardships, between those who are blown up on buses and those who are held up at checkpoints or are otherwise disadvantaged. This is not an easy balance, and the painful dilemma it poses is one Israel struggles with every day. But it is one with which this Report seems not to have struggled with for one moment.

The approach of this Report, like that of this emergency session -- ignoring the brutality of Palestinian terror, and which does not even mention the fundamental Palestinian obligation -restated in every Israeli-Palestinian agreement, and at the very outset of the Road Map -- to fight terrorism and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, is profoundly troubling. Not only will we not call on the Palestinian side to stop the terror, it tells us, but we will not allow you to do it yourselves.

Given the abundant energy and resources devoted to examining Israeli defensive counter-terrorist measures, it may be instructive in this regard to consider the Assembly's response to other actions embarked upon by states in fighting terrorism. In past decades, literally thousands of civilians, including Palestinian civilians, have been killed by certain Arab states in the Middle East, often in the name of fighting terrorism -- and yet, the Assembly has been silent. In 1982, one state in the Middle East, claiming to be fighting terrorist insurgents, murdered some 20,000 of its own civilians in the towns of Homs and Hama -- and yet, the Assembly was silent.

Since that time and to this day, countless counter-terrorist operations have been embarked upon, with a greater or lesser degree of legitimacy. Whole cities have been razed to the ground, thousands have been killed, maimed or tortured by various countries around the globe -- and yet, the Assembly has been silent.

How low can the duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard of the UN deteriorate to?

This sacred silence has been broken only in the case of Israel. And each time the Assembly has been galvanized into action not to condemn the brutal acts of terrorism but to condemn Israel's response to it. After a two-state solution was rejected by the Palestinian side at Camp David; and after three years unending terrorism; Israel has reluctantly adopted a non-violent defensive measure to protect its citizens from death. It has done so while seeking to balance security and humanitarian considerations and exhibiting infinitely more concern for the welfare of innocent civilians than either the terrorists or other States that have been spared the scrutiny of this Assembly.

The double standard is astounding. Just last week in the Third Committee, Israel was denied the opportunity to present to a vote a resolution on Israeli children, even after a resolution on Palestinian children was adopted. We were told then that Israeli children deliberately targeted by terrorists would not receive the protection of the Assembly. Today we are being told that we cannot protect them ourselves.

How dare the people who would not even consider protecting Israeli children by words, tell Israel that it cannot protect them by deeds. How low, how deep and how callous can the duplicity, hypocrisy and double standard of this body deteriorate to?

ARAFAT'S CORRUPTION

These are the children we are talking about. This is Tomer Almog, age 9, who was brutally murdered by a double suicide bomber at a restaurant in Haifa on October 4. He was slain together with his grandparents, his father and his cousins while his family was peacefully sitting down to lunch in a beachfront restaurant. And this is his brother, Oran Almog, who lost his eyesight in the same attack. One of his eyes was shattered, and while we were all sitting here in this hall last month having the same cynical debate in yet another Emergency Special Session, a world-renowned surgeon in Birmingham, Alabama was operating on his second eye, trying to save it.

Oran can now barely distinguish, with one eye, between light and dark. But he is watching us all today, to see whether we can distinguish between the forces of light that seek to protect our children, and the forces of dark, that try to extinguish them.

But the double standard does not end there. If the professed concern of the Assembly for the welfare of Palestinian civilians were genuine we would have seen by now a plethora of resolutions condemning Palestinian terrorism, and requesting the Secretary General to submit detailed reports on such things as the misuse of funds by the Palestinian leadership, the incitement of children to suicide terrorism, Palestinian human rights violations, and the policy of encouraging and funding terrorist groups adopted by regimes in the region.

Let us take corruption as an example. The Palestinian economy has been plundered for years by its own leadership, to the grave detriment of the Palestinian people, without the General Assembly so much as raising the issue for discussion. About one month ago, an International Monetary Fund audit uncovered the fact that between 1995 and 2000 Yasser Arafat diverted fully $900 million from the PA budget into a special bank account under his personal and unmonitored control. Recent reports indicate that Arafat's office receives some 9 million dollars a month, a full 2 million more than the entire amount allocated per month to the Palestinian health system. European Union audits have disclosed that $20 million in Egyptian funds meant to build low-income housing was instead turned into a luxury apartment complex that was given over to top PA officials and Arafat cronies. Money designed to feed, house, clothe, and educate Palestinian civilians has been diverted not just for personal gain but to fund terrorist groups, including, as recently revealed, the direct payment by the PA of $50,000 dollars a month to members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, responsible for scores of suicide attacks in the past three years.

Repressive regimes that sponsor terrorism and systematically violate human rights should be of concern to the international community.

The majority of the Palestinian people who suffer greatly as a result of this unprecedented corruption are denied full knowledge of these facts because of the lack of free press, and free access to information in Palestinian society. But these facts are known to the world and to this Assembly. And yet, where is the indignation? Much of this stolen money that perpetuates and greatly exacerbates the humanitarian suffering of innocent Palestinians is donor money. It is your money. And yet, where are the resolutions, the Secretary-General reports the demands that this policy be, to use a familiar phrase, ceased and reversed? Donor money flows into the pockets of Arafat and his wealthy accomplices; terrorism and incitement continue unabated; and all the while anti-Israeli initiatives led by states that treat the UN as their private property take up hugely disproportionate amounts of the organization's time and resources, while poor and developing countries must scramble and plead for the attention of the Assembly and the assistance of the international community.

Israel is not immune from legitimate and balanced criticism. But we have the audacity to demand that some of the repressive regimes in our neighborhood that sponsor terrorism and systematically violate human rights should be of equal, let alone greater, concern to the international community. At the very least the representatives of these regimes should not be allowed to dictate the conduct of this Assembly. This is not justice or fair criticism -- it is hypocrisy and double standard. It is self-righteous, self-serving and deeply counterproductive. It is the UN at its worst. And it rewards terrorism.

THE ARAFAT FENCE

The resolution presented for adoption at this meeting yet again hopelessly fails to reflect the reality on the ground or to help the Israeli and Palestinian peoples move closer to peaceful settlement...

At a time when there is hope for renewing the negotiating process through the Road Map this proposal and the attempt to involve a new actor in the conflict, is especially counterproductive. It will severely complicate, undermine and delay, if not halt altogether, current efforts to restart the implementation of the Road Map. Indeed, it contradicts the very letter and spirit of the Road Map, and the UN's role as one of its main sponsors.

Either the Palestinian side can finally get serious about complying with their obligations, or they can continue to abuse multilateral forums to try to score political and propaganda points. They cannot keep doing both. It is our genuine hope that, after seeing the misery and despair, on all sides, that their current strategy has created, the Palestinian side will finally act to confront terrorism and end incitement. The moment they do so, they will find in Israel a willing partner. Until then, the Arafat Fence -- the fence that Arafat's actions necessitated -- will stand to protect our children from further terrorism…

Visitor Comments: 9

(9)
Mark Hazelbaker,
December 17, 2003 12:00 AM

Israel has been given no choice

Any government that fails to protect the lives of its children and families from terror attacks is immoral and does not deserve to exist as a state. Israel did not start the Intifadeh, but it has no choice but to finish it. It is clear that the Palestinians still believe they can prevail against Israel by force. The fence is a far less deadly response to the campaign of terror than alternatives. When Israel went into Jenin after the Passover massacre in 2002, the world was infuriated. Well, if the world does not want Israel to root out the terrorists from their rat holes, then the alternative is to keep them in those rat holes.

May G-d preserve and protect Israel and the Jewish people from all who would destroy the nation. May G-d cause the light of his love and peace to shine on all the world so that the Palestinians see that force of arms is not the way to peace.

(8)
Miriam Elisheva,
December 17, 2003 12:00 AM

I agree in principle, but have you seen the fence? Will it work?

I understand the reasoning for the fence and agree that it is Arafat's Fence.

While I didn't find much new to me in this article, I was enraged by the episode of the UN's treatment on the issue of Israeli children vs. its treatment on the issue of Palestinian children.

The plain fact is that Israel will never get postitive or rational hearings and actions on its issues from the United Nations.

My question about the fence arises from a program I saw on the Discovery Channel this week (Discovery and the New York Times) which was an hour with NYT columnist Thomas Friedman with both Israeli and Palestinian "friends" and his trip to the fence. (Tom Friedman's need to be balanced is, I fear, an example of Jews hating - - or at least not supporting - - other Jews, but let's not go down that road.) At the fence in just one location there were 10's of Palestinians climbing up and over the fence wilth ease, in just a few minutes, as the camera rolled. Even Friedman, after learning his next stop was now 14 miles away (because of the fence) rather than the old 3 miles, chose to climb and cross over the concrete barriers.

I have never had heavy duty explosives strapped to my body, so I don't know if the process of climbing over and jumping down from the fence would set the explosives off or not, there is afterall a detonator switch. If the homicidal bombs were to explode, would this stop Palestinian youths from being educated to give up their own lives to kill Jews? Given what I have seen in documentories of the Palestinian school system, Palestinian television, and Palestinian summer camps, I tend to doubt it. I'm sure the terrorist bombers would be told they'd go to Paradise whether or not the managed to get to their targets. Their deaths would be in the news and counted as more Palestiniians killed in Israel in their fight for "freedom and a state of their own" (which is currently called Israel).

I agree with Andrew, the only real solution is for Jews, especially in Israel, to return to Torah and Mitzvot! I lived most of my life as a "cultural Jew", but now the very words "secular Jew" seems like an oxymoron to me! In fact, I just had to stop reading a book called "Real Jews" by Noah Ephron, about the hatred between the secular and haredi (orthodox) Israeli Jews. While both sides have their own, sometimes, illegal or downright untruthful, schemes to accomplish their goals. The hatred of the secular Jews toward religious Jews made me want to cry and vomit (not necessarily in that order). They, including Sharon's government and Ambassador Gillerman, actually think that a two-state solution would solve anything. The Palestinians will not be happy until they get all the land "from the Jordan to the Mediterranean" which may ring a familiar bell, as it is what G-d promised to Abraham and his descendants, the Jewish people. The secular Jews seem to see Judaism as a religion that "used to be". Why can't they believe that Torah and mitzvot would benenfit them, rather than believing that the Palestinians only want a separate state? Turning back to Torah and Mitzvot, is in fact the only thing Israel has NOT tried!!!!

(7)
Andrew Gelbman,
December 16, 2003 12:00 AM

The UN strikes again

The UN, the spokesman for the International Left, is consistent. It is a crime against mankind when a Jew kills a terrorist BUT any number of Jewish dead is okay, as long as the Jews don't fight back.

In Warsaw, the Germans and much of the leftist media (including every socialist organ in the USA) condemned the Ghetto fighters as "thugs" and "terrorists" for attacking the Germans, even using women as riflemen. HOW DARE the Jews shoot back!

In the age of the Crusades, an outraged Catholic Church demanded the Kings of Europe punish the Jews in their realms because the Sephardi communities in the east DARED to resist the Crusading murderers when they attacked Jewish villages.

The world has always been outraged when Jews defend themselves. If CNN and the UN had existed 3200 years ago, they would have complained about how 1 sided G-d is for sending plagues on the Egyptians and not requiring any concessions on the part of the Jews... if they had existed 2200 years ago, they would have denounced Jewish "terrorists" for attacking Antiochus' troops and Jewish "extremists" for not surrendering their religion to the Hellenists. They would have interviewed Hellenist Jews and talked about how those Torah-observant "extremists" have hijacked the Jewish religion with their insistence on kashrut and torat hamishpacha...

Well, as Schlomo HaMelech said there is nothing new under the sun. Israel tries to defend Jewish lives from Arabist terror and the world howls in protest. The natural order of things is that Jews die and their gentile enemies benefit as a result. How DARE Israel defy the laws of nature!

It is time for the Jewish people to wake up. The nations are not now nor have they ever been our friends. Liberalism and socialism are not the answer. Even this wall is not the answer. The only answer is a full return by the Jewish people to Torah and Mitzvos.

(6)
susan,
December 16, 2003 12:00 AM

I am still Zionist

I like your piece. I do understand the fence. I am only nervous, and I am a dispora jew. But what will the palestisn homicide bombers do next. Might they try other things instead of carrying bombs over try more extreme measures, like get chemicals from other countries and make missles. So what is the use of the fence it seems more like a temporary issue. When I went to Hebrew school we knew of arafat in the us as a terrorist, so I wouldnt be surprised if he tried more extreme measures. I hope Israel can find something. As far as the un is concerned why dont they go to israel for a week and let them see how it goes. As far a sIm concerned the un has outlived its welcome in nyc. When it comes to western ideas and democracy they are as bad as the terrorists. Give me a break!!!!!!!

(5)
Anonymous,
December 16, 2003 12:00 AM

Fence

If a farmer wouldn't protect his family and his animals with a fence against bloodthursty beasts he would be called foolish. But that's what they ask you to do. So what choice do you have? Obviously you must go on and let them talk.

(4)
Shoshana,
December 16, 2003 12:00 AM

Fence is a security issue

A fence is not a crime against humanity, terrorism is. PERIOD!

(3)
Stan,
December 15, 2003 12:00 AM

Israel's security is Israel's business.

Why do we still have the UN? It appears to me it either has outlived its usefulness or it has completely lost its sense of direction.

Israel MUST without hesitation, continue to take steps that first and foremost, protect the lives of its innocent citizens. All other considerations must come second. It's not just a question of survival, it is a moral and God-given duty.

Let them (those that oppose Israel) squirm and cry 'foul' at the UN; that's all they're good at and that's all they'll get. They can use their absolute majority to pass (unbinding)resolutions; that will be their only reward. Each of these hypocritical resolutions is one step closer to the UN's (only a matter of time) obsolescence.

Keep the fence work going. Don't even wait a minute longer - not even with the US on your back!

(2)
Anonymous,
December 15, 2003 12:00 AM

Bravo!!

Perfectly written. Not one unnecessary word! Direct, forceful, logical and honest. Sad that a twisted mind will probably hear these comments at the UN and ignore them or rationalize differently.

(1)
Carin Staines,
December 15, 2003 12:00 AM

american Fence

Is it not interesting that all reports coming out of the USA show them building a fence against the Mexican border in order to keep out illegal immigrants? Surely what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

I live in rural Montana where the Cholov Yisrael milk is difficult to obtain and very expensive. So I drink regular milk. What is your view on this?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Jewish law requires that there be rabbinic supervision during the milking process to ensure that the milk comes from a kosher animal. In the United States, many people rely on the Department of Agriculture's regulations and controls as sufficiently stringent to fulfill the rabbinic requirement for supervision.

Most of the major Kashrut organizations in the United States rely on this as well. You will therefore find many kosher products in America certified with a 'D' next to the kosher symbol. Such products – unless otherwise specified on the label – are not Cholov Yisrael and are assumed kosher based on the DOA's guarantee.

There are many, however, do not rely on this, and will eat only dairy products that are designated as Cholov Yisrael (literally, "Jewish milk"). This is particularly true in large Jewish communities, where Cholov Yisrael is widely available.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein wrote that under limited conditions, such as an institution which consumes a lot of milk and Cholov Yisrael is generally unavailable or especially expensive, American milk is acceptable, as the government supervision is adequate to prevent non-kosher ingredients from being added.

It should be added that the above only applies to milk itself, which is marketed as pure cow's milk. All other dairy products, such as cheeses and butter, may contain non-kosher ingredients and always require kosher certification. In addition, Rabbi Feinstein's ruling applies only in the United States, where government regulations are considered reliable. In other parts of the world, including Europe, Cholov Yisrael is a requirement.

There are additional esoteric reasons for being stringent regarding Cholov Yisrael, and because of this it is generally advisable to consume only Cholov Yisroel dairy foods.

In 1889, 800 Jews arrived in Buenos Aires, marking the birth of the modern Jewish community in Argentina. These immigrants were fleeing poverty and pogroms in Russia, and moved to Argentina because of its open door policy of immigration. By 1920, more than 150,000 Jews were living in Argentina. Juan Peron's rise to power in 1946 was an ominous sign, as he was a Nazi sympathizer with fascist leanings. Peron halted Jewish immigration to Argentina, introduced mandatory Catholic religious instruction in public schools, and allowed Argentina to become a haven for fleeing Nazis. (In 1960, Israeli agents abducted Adolf Eichmann from a Buenos Aires suburb.) Today, Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America with 250,000, though terror attacks have prompted many young people to emigrate. In 1992, the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 32 people. In 1994, the Jewish community headquarters in Buenos Aires was bombed, killing 85 people. The perpetrators have never been apprehended.

Be aware of what situations and behaviors give you pleasure. When you feel excessively sad and cannot change your attitude, make a conscious effort to take some action that might alleviate your sadness.

If you anticipate feeling sad, prepare a list of things that might make you feel better. It could be talking to a specific enthusiastic individual, running, taking a walk in a quiet area, looking at pictures of family, listening to music, or reading inspiring words.

While our attitude is a major factor in sadness, lack of positive external situations and events play an important role in how we feel.

[If a criminal has been executed by hanging] his body may not remain suspended overnight ... because it is an insult to God (Deuteronomy 21:23).

Rashi explains that since man was created in the image of God, anything that disparages man is disparaging God as well.

Chilul Hashem, bringing disgrace to the Divine Name, is one of the greatest sins in the Torah. The opposite of chilul Hashem is kiddush Hashem, sanctifying the Divine Name. While this topic has several dimensions to it, there is a living kiddush Hashem which occurs when a Jew behaves in a manner that merits the respect and admiration of other people, who thereby respect the Torah of Israel.

What is chilul Hashem? One Talmudic author stated, "It is when I buy meat from the butcher and delay paying him" (Yoma 86a). To cause someone to say that a Torah scholar is anything less than scrupulous in meeting his obligations is to cause people to lose respect for the Torah.

Suppose someone offers us a business deal of questionable legality. Is the personal gain worth the possible dishonor that we bring not only upon ourselves, but on our nation? If our personal reputation is ours to handle in whatever way we please, shouldn't we handle the reputation of our nation and the God we represent with maximum care?

Jews have given so much, even their lives, for kiddush Hashem. Can we not forego a few dollars to avoid chilul Hashem?

Today I shall...

be scrupulous in all my transactions and relationships to avoid the possibility of bringing dishonor to my God and people.

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